Customer Spotlight: Tio Mushrooms, Hamilton and Cambridge

Customer Spotlight: Tio Mushrooms, Hamilton & Cambridge

At ComputerFood, every order means something, whether it’s a small business printing fliers or someone printing school projects at home. Customer Spotlights provide us a way to connect to our customers and to highlight the people behind the purchases showing how our products and support make a difference.

In our second Customer Spotlight, we’re excited to introduce Luke from Tio Mushrooms.  As the founder and passionate grower behind the brand, Luke is dedicated to producing high-quality gourmet mushrooms.  Supporting him with marketing and behind the scenes is Helen. In this customer spotlight, they share the story of how Tio Mushrooms came to life, and how some of our products play a role in their journey.

We kicked things off at Tio in early 2022, driven by my passion for horticulture and a natural instinct for refining & improving systems. From the beginning, through to mid-2024, most of our energy went into experimenting with different growing methods - really honing in on what works best for cultivating mushrooms.

Until recently, I was juggling a full-time job while producing around 50kg of mushrooms each week for local farmers markets. But at the start of July, I decided to take the leap - thanks in large part to my partner, Helen's, support - and commit fully to mushroom growing. It’s a big step for us, and while it’s still early days, we’re incredibly excited about what’s ahead.

Our focus for the next few years is nailing the growing of oyster mushrooms, which are currently our main product. We're passionate about giving Kiwis across the country better access to fresh, flavour-packed mushrooms that not only enhance meals, but also come with the added bonus of being spray-free and crammed with natural health benefits. We offer very competitive bulk rates for restaurants & are always excited to hear from customers who want to incorporate mushrooms into their businesses.

We grow in a small cool store located between Hamilton and Cambridge, and you’ll find us at both local farmers markets. We also supply several nearby restaurants, and we’re now preparing to expand northward to the Clevedon and Catalina Bay Farmers Markets - another exciting step for Tio!

Tio Mushrooms sent us this picture showing the laminated sheets in use. We here at ComputerFood are big fans of the QR codes and it’s great to see a different example on its use cases. (Please note: the QR Codes have been blurred)

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Tio Mushrooms needed labelling in a unique environment

When you’re working in a high humidity, high rotation environment like a mushroom grow room, clear and durable labeling becomes essential.

Mushroom growing requires consistency: monitoring temperatures, tracking batches, labeling varieties, keeping everything hygienic and organised. Tio Mushrooms needed a solution that was:

• Water resistant
• Easy to read at a glance
• Portable and quick to generate labels on the go
• Able to withstand humidity and rough conditions without smudging or fading

Working with ComputerFood it was decided that the best solution for Luke & Helen was Brother TZe Tapes, paired with the Brother H110 Label Maker. Labels with a laminated layer that protects against water, abrasion, and fading. Combined with the portable and user friendly Brother P-Touch H110 handheld label printer, they’re now able to print labels directly where they work whether it's trays, shelves, or at the markets stall on the fly.

“It’s been a big game changer,” Luke explained. “We can label each grow tray with the strain, date, and any notes on the spot, and nothing smudges or peels off, even after weeks in the grow room.”

Why did we recommend TZe Tapes?

Handheld label printing with the Brother PTouch H110

The H110’s portability means they don’t need to run back and forth to a PC or desktop printer which is perfect for Tio Mushrooms who have grow rooms in Cambridge but travel from Hamilton. Just type, print, and stick. It’s fast, and ideal since they can take the label printer with them. Lucky for us they've even shared photos showing some of the setup, demonstrating the use of the labels.

TZe Tapes are available in a wide range of text and background colour combinations, making it easy to find the perfect match for your labelling needs. Popular choices include Black on White, White on Black, and Black on Clear. Designed for maximum visibility and versatility across different environments .See the full range we supply Brother TZe Tapes.

Featuring a simple split-back peel design, TZe Tapes are easy to peel and apply... as Luke is showing below.

Whether you’re cultivating gourmet mushrooms or managing a different type of environment, TZe tapes could be the labels you're after. However, if you are unsure if these will work for you, please get in contact with us.

ComputerFood has been an amazing supplier for all of our office needs - there is a huge amount of laminating, labelling and food safety documentation requiring their products. They are awesome to deal with & we couldn't recommend them more to businesses looking for a personable supplier offering commercial rates and quality!

Want to find out more about Tio Mushrooms?

Website: tiomushrooms.com

Follow Tio Mushrooms on social media for updates, recipes, and more:

Facebook  |  Instagram  |  LinkedIn

Contact: sales@tiomushrooms.com

Products Tio Mushrooms purchases from ComputerFood

	Brother P-Touch H110 Label Maker - White This portable Label Maker helps Tio Mushrooms create strong TZe laminated custom labels up to 12mm height on the fly without needing to worry about fading, rubbing off or getting a little wet.
	Brother TZe-231 12mm x 8m Black on White Adhesive Laminated Tape Create durable easy to read labels with the TZe-231 Tapes. This version with Black Text and White background is the most popular type in the TZe series.  We supply these in both genuine and also aftermarket compatible for more savings.
	Okin Laminated Pouches A4 80gsm Cost effective laminating pouches that are water resistant which again helps in the environment that Luke & Helen use them in.  The thickness of 80 Microns is a good thickness for everyday laminating use and looks great with the QR Code setup Tio Mushrooms have used.

We’re truly thankful to Luke and Helen for sharing their story and giving us a behind the scenes look at Tio Mushrooms. It’s always inspiring to see how our labelling products are used and even more so when we get to see the passionate people behind the orders. Thank you both for the photos and for being part of this customer spotlight!

If you’re interested in being featured in our Customer Spotlight, we’d love to hear from you. Reach out via our Contact Page.